Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a pervasive public health and social problem that affects approximately one in four girls and one in twenty boys. Preventing CSA requires identifying, detecting, and prosecuting those who perpetrate these crimes. Yet sexual abuse remains one of the most underreported crimes, and it is estimated that fewer than one in ten individuals who perpetrate sexual violence are ever caught.

Researchers have proposed several explanations for why detection rates are so low. These include:

Because CSA is so underreported, it is difficult to determine how many individuals who perpetrate child sexual abuse have more than one victim. Much of what we know about sexual offending comes from individuals who have been convicted. This creates an important limitation, as official records likely underestimate both the number of victims and the type of victims harmed by a single perpetrator.

There is a common belief that people who perpetrate sexual abuse have a specific “type” of victim. For example, it........

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